Madame La Maire
by Kathryn Claire O'Connor
Summary: Belle was chosen as mayor directly after the others left for Neverland and has been in the position throughout the year they've been gone - even after she gives birth to hers and Rumple's daughter that no one even know she was expecting when the others left. When they return, it's assumed that Regina won't be happy with these changes, but what about Rumple? *AU-ish four-shot*
1. Chapter 1

**Says "AU" on the tin because the trip to Neverland we're talking about here isn't necessarily the one from canon, if only because Henry's left in Storybrooke and the trip takes an entire year for reasons unknown. This story was inspired by the "Belleformayor" hashtag and some fanart for it. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but it's become a four-shot instead. Hopefully you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>"Are you ready?" Bae's eyes sparkled with excitement as put a hand on his father's back as they stood on the deck of the Jolly Roger, heading towards the gaping, swirling, green hole in the ground that was a portal back to Storybrooke.<p>

Rumplestiltskin's smile was unabashed as he nodded, feeling much as his boy did. Once they'd gotten to Neverland and completed all their necessary tasks and made sure everyone in their group was safe and sound and healthy enough to be unharmed by the return, nearly a year had somehow passed and they were _all _more than ready to return home. He looked around the ship, at all the people who were standing on the deck. Emma, Bae, Hook, the Charmings, Regina, and himself. They were each filled with nervous excitement, and he knew that each of them were envisioning what they would find when they got back.

In his own case, all Rumplestiltskin could see swimming before his vision was his wife's beautiful face.

As if he could read his father's thoughts, Bae leaned in and asked above the whirling air of the portal, "What do you think Belle's been up to?"

Rumple didn't have time to answer before the portal swallowed them whole.

* * *

><p>"Archie, I hate my life," Belle declared sharply, setting down her pen instead of throwing it across the room as she desperately wanted to.<p>

"Come on, no, you don't," Archie coaxed, looking at her from across her desk. "You have a good life, and you know it."

"And what's so great about it?" she snapped.

"You've got a coveted position in town-"

"Shut up; that's why I hate my life!"

"Okay," Archie tried again. "Then think about it this way. You have a lot of friends here still-"

"I have a bunch of whiny citizens and five friends," Belle corrected sourly, putting her head in her hands.

"There's more than just the council," Archie protested. "What about Granny? Doesn't she count?"

"Granny is currently having trouble understanding that the road in front of her shop will be repaved only _once the road crew has the time_, so, no, she doesn't count; Granny is a part of today's reason why I have a headache."

"Fine, what about Alana, then?"

Belle lifted her head and managed a wry half-smile at the psychologist.

"There," Archie smiled. "That's better."

Belle rolled her eyes in good enough spirits, and apologized, saying only, "I'm sorry; I know I've been cranky today."

"Hey, that's okay," Archie answered. "I know that tomorrow marks a year that they've been gone; that's got to be hard. You're allowed to fray a little at the edges, _Madame La Maire_; it's called being human."

"Thank you, Archie," Belle said softly, smiling half-heartedly at him.

"Any time." Then he stood up, saying briskly, "Now, it's getting late, and I'm sure the dwarves have had about all they can stand of babysitting your poor four-month old."

"By which I'm sure you mean that Alana's probably reaching her threshold for the day on how much 'uncle' time she can handle."

"Exactly," Archie grinned, asking, "Do you want me to walk you to pick her up?"

"No, thanks; I've got a few more pieces of paperwork that I have to do first."

"No," Archie ordered flatly. "You need to spend some time relaxing with your daughter; the paperwork will be there tomorrow."

"That's exactly the problem!" Belle nearly whined.

"I will get Mulan or Henry to help me drag you out of here," Archie threatened. "You're half asleep just sitting there, city hall closed hours ago… and I daresay that you're distracted with thinking about him. Doctor's prescription for that is spending time with the family that you do have in town instead of thinking about those that are away. So let's go; like I said, doctor's orders."

"Thanks, Archie," Belle said, standing reluctantly and grabbing her purse. "I think I'd rather just walk myself to the dwarves'."

Archie didn't make any further comment on what they both knew was bothering her. Instead he just nodded his understanding and gave her shoulder a squeeze when they reached the sidewalk. Then they separated ways, Dr. Hopper going towards the apartment above his practice, and Belle towards the dwarves' house to pick up Alana.

As she walked, Belle's fingertips brushed of their own volition against the ring on her ring finger - her wedding ring from Rumple. The townspeople could say whatever they wanted about his no longer being among the living - and by now most of them did so to her face - but she knew that it wasn't true. He was her husband, and she believed in him, even a year later. She believed that he - and the others - would come back. They had to. She didn't want to live out her life without them in it, and the idea of Alana never meeting them - particularly Rumple - she refused to even consider it.

So she would follow Archie's advice. The only thing that she would think about tonight was the fact that they would be back, and that, in the mean time, she still had Alana.

Speaking of which… Belle forced away her dreary thoughts and stretched a smile onto her face before knocking on the dwarves' front door.

"Hey," Grumpy said, stifling a yawn when he saw her on the stoop. "Lanie's asleep on the couch; everybody's asleep here except for me… as I'm pretty sure you should be; you look exhausted."

Belle ignored his pitiful attempt at mothering, saying instead, "I'm sorry, Grumpy, I probably shouldn't have stayed at the office as late as I did."

"No, you probably shouldn't have, but that's never stopped you before." The words were sharp - as was typical of Grumpy - but Belle knew that the intent was caring. "Are you going to come in?"

Belle shook her head. "I've still got some inventory waiting for me back at the pawn shop, and I took some of the books from the library that need repaired."

"Gods, Belle," Grumpy groaned. "I have talked to you about this, and I know I'm not the only one, either. You have August working at the library for a reason!"

"But only for a couple hours a day!"

"Belle-"

"Grumpy," Belle snapped. "Give me my daughter so that I can go home."

The dwarf huffed with displeasure that was probably more concern for her than anything, and Belle stayed on the stoop as he gathered Alana and her things from inside his house.

Managing to feel at least a little contrite by the time that he came back with her daughter already strapped into her car seat, she said, "Thank you for picking her up from the daycare earlier."

"You're welcome," and from Grumpy that was as close to spoken forgiveness as they were going to get. Belle smiled lightly as she transferred Alana's car seat into her own arms with as little shifting as possible, but Grumpy wasn't buying it. "Hard day?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she admitted.

"How bad?"

"Grumpy," she said honestly, if not a little sardonically, "I will kill myself if tomorrow is another day like today."


	2. Chapter 2

"I see Henry!" Mary Margret screamed even while the Jolly Roger was still flying through the air towards a landing in Storybrooke's harbor.

Gripping the railing as he moved to stand beside Mary Margret, Rumple fervidly scanned the docks for any sign of his wife, but he found none. No sign of her when Hook's ship was flying through the air, nor when everyone from the ship moved onto dry ground and was assailed by an ecstatic Henry. He hugged each and every one of them - including Rumple - at least twice before he actually said a coherent sentence - and that was to answer Rumple's monosyllabic question of "Belle?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Henry said with a small laugh.

"What do you mean?" Rumple asked, concern creasing his brow.

"Um… how about you just let me show you - all of you. You'll need to go see her anyway."

"Why is that necessary?" Regina asked. "I'd like to go home first."

"Please can you just come with me and Grandpa? I want to be there when Belle explains things, but I just got to see you again after a whole year! Please, mom?"

Regina frowned but nodded, agreeing, "Fair enough."

Henry grinned and turned only for Ruby to call out, "Hey, Henry, come on!" And then the waitress noticed the group surrounding Henry and darted towards them while screaming with glee. Another round of hugs followed - this one not including Rumple - before Ruby asked Henry, "Are you taking them to see the mayor? Because they need to go there before they see anyone else."

"Who says?" Rumple snapped, getting unbelievably impatient to see his bride.

"The mayor herself - back when they left; don't you remember, Henry? She said that they had to go to her office before anywhere else."

"Who does she think she is?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Good question," Regina agreed, inquiring, "I assume this conversation means that an stand-in has been elected in my absence?"

"She was asked to fill the position for a two-year term," Henry said carefully.

"But I've returned, so I can take the office back over," Regina replied, a sort of quizzical question in her tone.

"I doubt that'll be as easy as your thinking," Henry revealed. "People have become amazingly loyal to her."

"Who is she then?" Regina asked, her voice now laced with what might nearly be described as shock.

"Uh… just… the mayor," Henry answered nervously before saying, "But Ruby's right; we've got a private council meeting that we need to get to, and you guys should probably all come with us. She'll want to talk to you."

"Oh, believe you me, I want to talk to her too," Regina replied sharply, heading up the group as they moved towards the mayor's office.

"Mom, please," Henry practically begged, skipping ahead to walk abreast his mother. "Don't cause problems. She's going to be a wreck enough at seeing you all again, and she's nearly a wreck anyway because she puts too much on herself… so just please be nice… and maybe even offer to help her out for the rest of her term? If you want to keep your foot in the door of town politics?"

Regina glanced sideways at her obviously nervous son and her steps lost most of their tense fervor as she asked, "What do you mean 'she puts too much on herself'?"

"She owns most of the town now," Henry revealed. "And she takes a personal part in a couple of… businesses as well as her duties as mayor - and she's got a kid."

"Sounds like she's busy," David remarked.

"A you think she could use some help," Emma continued. "Does she have a good sheriff backing her up?"

Rumple rolled his eyes at the actual intent behind Miss Swan's question as Ruby answered quickly, "No."

"Why? Who's sheriff?"

"Jefferson."

"As in the mad hatter who kidnapped Snow and I?"

"Yeah…" Henry drawled. "We got a little desperate once you guys all left."

"Belle's looking after the pawn shop, right?" Rumple checked.

"Yeah… though I do help out a whole lot."

"And the library?"

"She does some things, but mostly August just keeps it open a couple of hours after school lets out."

"The library's only open ten hours a week? Belle can't like that."

"We're doing the best we can right now - but you're all back now, so I'm sure that things will get better."

"I hope so," Rumple answered, muttering under his breath as they stepped into the halls of town hall, "As soon as I finally get to see my wife, that is."

"Why don't you… stay here," Henry suggested once they were just out of hearing range of the mayor's office. "Ruby and I can go tell her you're back."

"Okay…" Emma drawled, looking at her son quizzically.

"Thanks." So saying, Henry smiled reassuringly and disappeared with Ruby into the mayor's office.

* * *

><p>"You two are early," Belle remarked, looking up from the pile of papers on her desk that she was pouring over.<p>

"Nobody else is here yet?" Ruby remarked, a smile already playing about her mouth despite her best efforts to keep a neutral expression.

"No," Belle sighed. "Grumpy went to grab Alana from daycare before he came, Archie's finishing with a session, and Mulan is… I don't even know what Mulan is doing."

Noticing the tension lacing Belle's expression – as had become the norm within the past year – Henry said helpfully, "We've got someone here who wants to see you."

"If it's Granny about that ever-loving road-"

"I talked to her about that… again," Red said quickly.

"Then that means it'll be Jefferson wanting another unnecessary warrant – or better yet, Kathryn, telling me that Alana got sick while at daycare today."

"Lanie's right here," Grumpy said, manhandling the four-month-old's car seat with her inside it as he came into Belle's office. "And Miss Daycare-"

"Kathryn Hopper," Belle corrected him.

Grumpy rolled his eyes, amending, "_Kathryn Hopper _didn't say anything about her being sick."

"Well, in that case," Archie strode into the room with Mulan at his heels. "Do I have Mommy's permission to be the one to put her in her crib in the side room for the meeting's duration?"

As it often did, the council members' love for her daughter coaxed a smile onto Belle's face as she nodded, assenting, "Sure." Once Archie had taken the baby into the side room that had long been set up for Alana, Belle turned back to Henry and asked, "So who is here?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Henry said that this was a council meeting?" Regina asked despairingly, watching as first Red and Henry, and then Grumpy, Archie, and Mulan went into the mayor's office. "Please tell me that's not the council."

"Did Grumpy have a baby?" Snow asked in astonishment.

"Maybe Nova decided that she didn't want to be a nun anymore?" Hook suggested with a smirk.

"Shut up," Regina muttered. "Where is Henry? Isn't he or Ruby going to come get us? I want to know who it is that thinks they're running my town."

"You know…" David said hesitantly. "From what I saw of the town, nothing was in shambles."

Bae asked, "And am I the only one who saw that a fence had been erected around the town border? That's a good idea, right?"

"A great one," Rumple agreed, thinking of his stint with "Lacey" and the reasons behind it.

Hook must have been thinking the same thing because he remarked, "I'm sure Mrs. Gold would approve."

* * *

><p>Henry grinned at Belle as he said two very small but apparently very important words – "They're back."<p>

It took Belle's overworked brain a second before she understood who he meant, and when it clicked, her hand flew up to stop a scream that would've woken the sleeping Alana. "Where are they?" she breathed, realizing that everyone in the room was looking to her for… something.

"Just out of hearing range outside your office door."

"How much do they know?"

"Basically nothing; we didn't even tell them you're mayor."

"They know Jefferson's sheriff, though," Ruby added.

Archie asked. "How about my now being married?"

Henry shook his head.

"Lana?" Belle asked faintly.

Again, the teenager indicated to the negative.

"Perfect," Belle sighed warily, slouching over in her chair and putting her elbows on her desk, head in her hands.

"On a bright note," Ruby said helpfully, "It sounds like Emma wants her old job back. And Gold's here to take the pawn shop responsibilities back over."

"And to be here for Lanie," Henry added pointedly. He rounded her desk and laid a hand on her shoulder, soothing, "Come on, Belle, it'll all be okay, you'll see. Rumple loves kids – especially his own kids."

"No one even knew I was pregnant when they left!"

"But he'll be ecstatic to learn he's got another kid now!" Henry promised. "Please, Belle, just let me bring them in here. He's really impatient to see you."

"So is Regina, I bet," Belle deadpanned. Henry laughed nervously, and Belle just sighed again before she agreed, "Alright."

"Thank you," Henry smiled before sliding back out the office door and trying to ignore the fact that Belle instantly slid from behind her desk and into hiding in the room with Alana.

* * *

><p>"Are we allowed in now?" Regina asked dryly when Henry walked back to them.<p>

"Yeah, but really, Mom, please be nice; Madame La Maire is under extreme stress right now."

The French words caught Rumple's attention, and his eyebrows drew together as he silently translated them and started putting the pieces together… and a slow, as of yet unnoticed, smile started forming at the edges of his mouth.

"I'll behave," Regina promised Henry with a roll of her eyes.

As they walked towards the mayor's office, Snow White asked, "Did I see a wedding ring on Archie's hand when he went by?"

"I don't think he'd mind me telling you he's been married for, oh… five months now."

"To who?"

"You'll have to ask him that," Henry answered cryptically, opening the door to the mayor's office.

"What are we asking someone?" Grumpy asked as the recently returned trooped into the office.

David answered, "We're asking Archie who he married."

Grumpy laughed, "Yeah, Charming, you do that."

"He's not going to have a problem with it," Mulan objected, glaring at the dwarf.

"Excuse me?" David asked, looking as confused as everyone else.

Archie cleared his throat before saying while watching the Charmings carefully, "Kathryn... It's Kathryn Hopper now."

"Ah," David said, smiling easily at the other man as he rocked back on his heels. "Well, congratulations to you both, Archie; you've got a good girl there."

Archie smiled with relief as he nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I do; thanks."

"Yes, yes, congratulations on getting a wife," Rumple said impatiently. "Now, speaking of wife – where's mine?"

There was a moment of silence and then Mulan asked smoothly, "Why would you think that she's here?"

"This is a mayor-council plan that you're running the town on now," Regina spoke up. "That requires at least five council members, one of which acts as mayor and head of the council. Right now I see only four adults, so that means that there's at least a fifth somewhere."

"Besides, _Madame La Maire_ is a French term," Rumple added. "And my wife is French. That's got to mean something. Where is she?"

"Who says Henry's not the fifth member?" Grumpy asked.

"I love my kid," Emma said with a soft laugh. "And he's very bright, but he's not old enough to be a part of any government body."

"Wait," Regina said, turning to Rumple with a soft laugh. "You think that _Belle's_ the mayor? Belle Gold as mayor? Really?"

"Really," Henry said, carefully looking at his adopted mother.

"So, if this is a council meeting, she's here somewhere, right?" Rumple asked, peering around the room.

"Henry, you said she's stressed," Bae pointed out. "Why?"

Henry took a very deep breath and let it out slowly as he turned to look at Rumple, searching his face silently.

"What is it?" Rumple asked. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah… mostly. Just… nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"About… Mom… by which I mean Regina."

"You're lying, kid," Emma said swiftly. "How come?"

Henry got a panicked look in his eye, casting his gaze around to Archie, Grumpy, Mulan, and Red.

"You just sat there and told her that she'd be okay," Red told Henry. "Why are you backing out of that now?"

"I've… seen this go down before," Henry answered slowly.

"Seen what 'go down before'?" Rumple asked, getting increasingly agitated without any straight answers concerning his wife.

Henry swallowed nervously, looking him in the eye as he answered nervously, "Manhattan."

"Manhattan," Rumple repeated thoughtfully. "Where you met Bae… where …" he realized, suddenly feeling a little faint as he continued, "Where a father… saw his _child_ for the first time." Bae darted to his father's side, supporting him so that he would stay upright as Rumple tried to ask, "Is that why… is that… is Belle… did she… _a child_?"


	4. Chapter 4

"So, wait a second here," Regina called out. "Archie's married to Kathryn, Belle is mayor of my town, and that same woman _had Rumple's kid_?"

"I think that's all of it, yes."

The unique accent that Rumple had so missed hearing held an edge that he couldn't quite decipher as he whipped towards Belle in time to see her emerge from a side room of the mayor's office. "Belle," he whispered, a slow smile transforming his face as the very sight of her brought tears to his eyes and erased his worries.

She took the first step towards him, and he went the rest of the way. For a long moment he just hugged her, feeling the solid warmth of her in his arms and breathing in the scent of her perfume. Belle. His Belle. And he was back with her again after a long, long year.

Eventually she pulled back to look him in the eyes, breathing his name with tears in her sky-colored orbs. Good tears, it seemed, as she searched his eyes for anything besides utter joy upon hearing that he had a second child - and found nothing of the sort.

Suddenly Grumpy broke through their feeling that they were the only two in the room by saying, "Don't forget that it's somebody's naptime, guys."

Belle's eyes blew wide as she hushed her husband despite the fact that he wasn't saying anything.

Obligingly, he took her hand and they stepped further away from the side room door before he asked coaxingly, "Belle…?"

"Yes?"

"Can I just have a teeny, _tiny _little peek at our child?"

"She's sleeping, Rumple," Belle objected with an adoring smile.

"I can teleport without even opening the door! I won't make a sound!"

"You're killing him here, Belle," Bae said, helping his father's case and looking not a little excited in his own right.

"Come on, Belle, this is my daughter, and I just want a glimpse of her!"

Belle caved with a smile, agreeing, "Okay – but don't you dare wake her up! She has a propensity for becoming a full-tail diva when her naptime or plans she's got in her head otherwise are interrupted."

Rumple ignored Bae sarcastically asking Belle, "I wonder where she got that from?" and, as he'd promised his wife, he teleported from one side of the closed door to the other. He really had meant to stay for just a second… but then he saw her – and she wasn't asleep.

The room which they were in was really just a repurposed closet with a crib inside it, and he'd had no choice but to land directly at the side of the crib, hands on the top bar as he peered down… into eyes that were wide-open and the exact same shade as her mother's. Her nose he recognized as coming from him, but everything else he saw looked to him like Belle, and she was beautiful. His beautiful _daughter_.

Those bright eyes blinked up at him, her full lips parted just a little, and for one terrifying second, he thought she was going to scream. But then she smiled – and if he hadn't been melted by her before, he was a hopeless puddle now.

"Hello there, dearest," he whispered, stooping over the crib. "Dear, dear little one. I'm your papa… What's your name?" he lifted her gently into his arms, realizing, "Ye gods, I don't even know your name! We'll definitely have to get that from your mother, won't we?"

"Alana Marie," Belle laughed, coming up behind him and laying her head on his shoulder, arms finding her way around his waist in the cramped space.

"Alana," Rumple whispered, dropping the gentlest of kisses onto the downy red curls of the child in his arms. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

"It's Scottish," Belle offered. "and it means 'pretty girl.'"

"Like I said, a name fitly chosen."

Someone knocked on the door of the room, and Bae called out from the other side of it, "Are you guys going to feel like coming out and sharing the kid anytime soon?"

Rumple smiled, saying, "I think he's impatient to see his little sister." Belle nodded, burrowing her face in his shoulder, and though he couldn't see her face very well, Rumple could feel that her body was tense, so he asked, "What's wrong, dearest?"

Belle mumbled into his shoulder, the words nearly incoherent, but he managed to pick out a name. Regina.

"Now, dearest, don't take this the wrong way, but d*** Regina."

"Rumple!" Belle gasped. "Lanie!"

"Well, my apologies then, but I mean it. You're mayor, you got that position fairly, you've done it well, and Regina can just get off her high horse, get over it - and over herself - and get on with her life. I can tell her so if you'd like."

"That is exactly what I don't want," Belle sighed. "I've upheld this office without you - no offense - for the past year, and if I immediately start relying on you to handle things the moment you get back, then I loose the respect from the citizens here that I worked so hard to earn."

"Very well," Rumple sighed. "What would you like to be done, Madame La Maire?"

A moment of silence passed before Belle admitted, "I guess we've got to go out there at some point, don't we?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Then why put off the inevitable?"

So saying, Belle swept out of the side room, and Rumple followed her, instantly finding himself flanked by Bae and Henry as they vied for the better view of Alana.

"Can I hold her?" Bae asked.

Rumple didn't really want to give his daughter up - not now, not ever - but he did, shifting the baby into her brothers waiting arms so that he could go to his wife unencumbered. She was standing in a circle with Henry, Regina, and those who were apparently the four council members, and they looked to have rather quickly gotten into a serious conversation. That was probably a conversation that he needed to be present for - for Belle's sake - or so Rumple thought.

He found, however, that his opinion might just be wrong when he walked up to hear Regina say simply - even calmly - "Okay."

"You're actually okay with this?" Belle asked the former mayor, her relief obvious.

"I might as well be," Regina said with a soft sigh. "I promised a number of people - including myself - that I was going to get better, and I guess this is just a test of that. It seems like it wouldn't do me much good anyway if I did try to get in the way of it. Not from what your council members are telling me - especially the unofficial councilmember." Henry smiled cheekily as Regina pulled him into a one-armed hug. "So, yes," Regina nodded. "It looks like I'm just going to have to make my peace with it."

"I am _really _glad to hear you say that," Belle admitted, offering the other woman a genuine smile which - miracle of miracles - Regina returned.

"But, hey, if you ever decide to throw in the towel, I'd be more than willing to pick up the pieces," Regina said, Rumple thought maybe even jokingly.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Belle replied. "This job is harder than I ever thought it might be, but I've kind of gotten used to it, and I like it."

"I guess we've all got to get used to some things, huh?" Regina asked, looking at Rumple as she nodded over his shoulder to across the room where Bae was holding Alana.

Rumple nodded, looking down into his wife's eyes as he said, "But I know I'm going to like these changes - as a matter of fact, I think I _love _them."

"Good," Belle answered, looking much more relaxed then he had when they'd come into her office, "Because we love _you, _Rumplestiltskin. And we're so glad to have you home."

In the middle of her office or not, Rumple tilted his wife's chin up for a kiss as he replied, "And I, for one, am glad to be home."


End file.
